House Bill 2012 — the supplemental budget — is poised to pass the state House.

Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro gave a shout-out to David Ige, his Senate WAM counterpart. “They were long and tough negotiations,” Oshiro says, but things turned out OK in the end — a focus on “reprioritizing, rehabilitiating and renewing” government services.

Oshiro made little mention of how the House and Senate could not agree on the budget during conference committee, requiring an extension of session into last weekend.

He also thanked Republican members of the Finance Committee for their “often contrarian” views, and he called his own staff “unsung heroes.”

Oshiro argued that the Legislature should not just spend money to restore the “status quo” but to look to how Hawaii should emerge from the recession. That includes dealing with longterm costs like retirement benefits for state workers — something Oshiro said did not happen, making it his biggest disappointment of the session.

Failure to address unfunded liabilities may imperil the state not far down the road, he suggested, and impact other critical matters like spending on social services and health programs.

“Is this what we want Hawaii to look like when the recession ends?” he asked.